The law is very clear on the matter in both the protection of animals and the problems they cause.

There is a law passed by the Generalitat Valenciana issued on July 8, 1994 (Law for the protection of Pets) which was modified by Decree 158/1996.

Secondly, Article 26 of this law establishes that if the owners of pets frequently, for any reason, cause disturbances to the neighbourhood and the owners are not taking care to avoid this situation then they could be fined. If the problem persists then the animals could be confiscated by the Ayuntamiento. Article 31 of the law defines the Ayuntamiento as the relevant authority in the matter.

So, the course of action is to inform the Ayuntamiento of the problem by writing a Denuncia with the heading thus:

Al Exmo Ayuntamiento de (Town name)

Servicio de Salud Publico y Del Medio Ambiente

This should be followed by your full name, NIE and your address.

Make the complaint short and sweet (dog/s barking, times, duration).

It is VERY VERY important to stress the damage to health. Go to your doctor: ask for sleeping tablets or Valium, anything to record the problem officially in the health system. Go every month if the problem persists.

The dog owner and Ayuntamiento can be heavily penalised in Court if damage is caused to health and they did not act to prevent it by removing the cause.

Date and sign it.

Then, take 2 copies to the Ayuntamiento reception and get them stamped. One for yourself the other for them. Keep all copies.
Wait 3 days. The Policia Local should visit you and see the problem for themselves during the period that you have complained about.

If they do not come then change the date on the Denuncia and repeat the process. Do this every 3 days until you have a response even if it takes weeks..

If the Ayuntamiento does not act then go onto the Internet and contact the Sindic de Grueges (Ombudsman). Just type in Sindic. His job is to make sure that official bodies do their job. You can make your complaint in English – no problem.

Failing all of the above sue the owner of the dogs, not the Ayuntamiento. The owner does not have the money or cojones for a court case whilst the Ayuntamiento does. Expect to pay about 1000 – 1500 euros for a quiet life

ps

I forgot to say that when making the denuncia to make sure that you quote the decree number.

You can recover your court costs from the B***ard who caused the problem!